Pod of Dolphins Get Up Close With Camera

A pod of dolphins showed their playful and curious personalities, seemingly mesmerized by an underwater camera that captured them 20 miles off the coast of Santa Cruz, Calif.

The footage of the dolphins, which appear cartoon-like as they swim through clear water, has more than 100,000 views since tuna fisherman Mark Peters, 42, posted the video three days ago.

“It’s a unique perspective, eye to eye,” Peters said. “I am blown away by the number of views.”

He intended to capture images of tuna striking lures from his GoPro underwater camera, which he towed from his boat, but when Peters and his friends encountered a pod of dolphins, they slowed their boat down and allowed the mammals to interact with the camera.

“They were following the camera and looking at it head on,” Peters said. “That pod probably had 500 dolphins in it. It was half a mile long, but you see about 15 in the video.”

The recreational fisherman, said he has played around with his GoPro underwater cameras in the past and posted videos on a fishing forum, but he never expected his audience would go beyond the fishing community.

Peters said he plans to take his camera on future fishing trips and hopefully capture more footage of marine life.